If only I had known… – Annette Piper

17042009

Ah yes, if only I had known … there are so many things in life that could have been better with the aid of hindsight.A wonderful thing hindsight, but in a way – it takes away all the surprise!!Here are a few of my “if only” moments …

If only I had known gemstones would one day take over my life and a good proportion of my house!I worked with gemstones since my earliest working days but never imagined they could have become such a big part of my life!And the storage issues are a nightmare – they have to be there to see and to touch and to feel, but there is just not enough shelving in my whole house to accommodate them all!When we built my workroom I blindly thought that would be enough shelving.Ha.How could I have been so utterly wrong?

If only I had known that jewellery making was to be my future I would have paid a lot more attention to the jewelers when I was working in the trade and would have taken them up on their offers to let me have a go at the bench!As it was I only picked up bits and pieces from them (but all valuable nevertheless) and then had to pay to do lessons!

If only I had known the Aussie dollar was going to tumble in relation to the US dollar last year I could have bought so much more stock and saved some $!I remember that the AUD was almost at parity and I was actually thinking ‘but I don’t need anything else’.How absolutely mistaken I was – I ALWAYS need more – especially gemmies.Now I just have to pay so much more for them … it has slowed down my purchases, but certainly hasn’t stopped them!

If only I had known the satisfaction I would get from creating and selling my creations I would have started a lot sooner.It has made me a happier, more rounded person being able to fulfill my creative outlet and sharing my passion with the world!Of course, others could call me addicted, but hey, nothing’s perfect!

Bright red bamboo coral - if only I had known it would have been so hard to get really nice quality pieces - I would have bought a lot more!